


i want you (bless my soul!)

by patchworkangel



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drag Queens AU, I'm a mess of tags, M/M, Modern AU, Modern Era, Sort Of, Youtube Personality AU, again sort of?!?, also vague mentions of genitalia so there, makeup artist au, sort of???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 15:57:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20361184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patchworkangel/pseuds/patchworkangel
Summary: Freddie Mercury likes makeup. Freddie Mercury likes Brian May.That's it, that's the story.





	i want you (bless my soul!)

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous said:
> 
> Oohhh fluffy and cute frian/maycury please! I alawys thought they are a LOT like Lilly and Marshall from HIMYM the longer you think about it the more sense it makes! Could you do Something with that pretty please?
> 
> -
> 
> Question: Am I ever gonna just write a fic that's not basically a result of losing the plot and ending up writing more than, or less than, I needed to?
> 
> Answer: Yes, because I have faith in myself, but also like, not today. Today we write 2.8k words of Makeup Artist AU, instead of what we really wanted to write, because we are losers and we like it here.

"Don't move."

"I'm not."

"I just sai-..! _Brian! I said don't move!_" Freddie half-laughed, half-complained, grabbing his boyfriend's fluffy - and giggling - face between his hands. "Now look what you've done - _your eyeliner's gone all crooked!_"

Brian laughed. "I'm sorry, babe, I really am. Can it be fixed? I'll be still this time, I promise."

Freddie narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend. "You sit on a throne of lies, you liar."

Brian chuckled, shrugging at the camera. "Well, I tried."

Freddie flipped him the bird, while rummaging through the mess of cosmetics on his filming vanity for a makeup wipe. "And... I'm out of makeup wipes too, apparently."

"Oh, are those the wet tissues you make Roger and I use after we perform? They smell nice." Brian spun idly on his boyfriend's spinning stool, a delicate finger just barely scratching at his nose. He knew better than to just rub at the itch the way he usually would; the last time he did that, they had to pause shooting altogether, due to Freddie almost bursting into tears over Brian '_ruining his contour_'.

_Enter John, swooping in with an emergency cuddle while Roger laughed his ass off behind the camera._

"Ugh, whatever. Fuck those wipes! We're doing this old school with a q-tip and some makeup remover. Now stay still, love!"

Brian practically held his breath as Freddie cupped his face with one hand, and then very carefully worked a wet q-tip near his eye with the other.

It was a strange sensation, having someone prodding around so near to his eyeball - but he trusted Freddie with his life. And to be honest, he really did try to keep perfectly still - after all, Freddie had been begging him to do this video for weeks, and he wanted nothing more than to make his boyfriend happy - but he just couldn't help being both curious about everything Freddie was doing to his face, while also just appreciating his boyfriend's very focused, and almost uncharacteristic seriousness, while he worked his magic.

_And could you blame him? His boyfriend was gorgeous._

Today Freddie had done his own makeup hours before they even started filming, and like always, Brian had been distracted from the moment he saw him fully glam'd up. He just... he looked like a fucking _work of art_. Exactly how his boyfriend managed to look both prettier and more handsome at the same time when he was all dolled up, he had no idea. All he knew was that, beyond all the eye shadow and lipstick, he was just as mesmerized by this part of his boyfriend - _or 'Melina', as Freddie dubbed his feminine persona_ \- as he was with Freddie himself.

Sure she was a force of nature to contend with, his Melina;_ just as much a runaway storm as his Freddie_. But he couldn't stop loving either if he tried.

Fully dolled up, or hair slicked back, dressed head to toe in leather - Brian was hopelessly enamored with his boyfriend in his entirety.

Of course their fans knew about Freddie's dabbling in makeup and the occasional drag. And of course, there were those who tried to make Freddie feel bad about it. But he and the others had decided long ago - before Freddie started his Melina youtube channel - that they would stand by their lead singer no matter what. God knows the amount of times he's walked in to find John calming an irate Roger down from another screaming match with his laptop screen - all because some _troll_ had commented about how Freddie was the death of decency in rock music.

_As if rock and roll was ever 'decent'._

_Those bastards could fuck off._

But Freddie - oh how his man just kept on being amazing and outstanding, despite the shit people were throwing at them.

Instead of giving up on drag and makeup, their lead singer had instead gotten even better at his craft, and eventually started his own youtube channel, where he could be honest and open about being queer and doing drag, while also being a rockstar to boot. His makeup tutorials were especially popular; and as they grew as a band, Freddie began to grow as an exceptional makeup artist.

_Told you my bloody art degree would come in handy one day_, he once told them, and Brian couldn't agree more. He'd practically lost track of how many times he's watched Freddie paint his face, and yet the process still never failed to take his breath away.

The way every movement, every action, every deliberate touch - slowly transformed all that was Freddie, until Melina finally took her place; it was fucking _artistic poetry in motion_. In fact, he even suggested once that Freddie do their shows in drag, but his boyfriend had laughingly declined.

'Melina' isn't made for singing on stage in a rock band, dear, he had told him. Melina was _beauty_, Melina was_ glam_. Melina was... _fantasy_.

But Freddie however - _Freddie was made for the stage_. Freddie was_ music_, Freddie was _performance_.

Freddie was for their fans, who had stuck by them, from their days of singing cover songs on Roger's youtube channel, to performing original material on their official band channel, to them releasing their album and touring the country performing live almost every other day of the week.

For those fans, _Freddie was Freddie_, and Freddie enjoyed keeping it that way. _Perhaps Melina could drop by once in a while_, he mused, but at the end of the day, if he was going to stand on stage and sing while Brian, Roger, and John played their hearts out, he was going to do so as Freddie Mercury.

_Besides_, he had cheekily added, _he very much enjoyed being unmistakably male when teasing Brian during his solos._

Kept the _thirsty ladies (and boys!)_ in their audience suitably reminded of their places, should any of them get the dreadful idea that his boyfriend only really 'liked' him because he wore makeup and occasionally did drag.

Well, joke's on them; Brian's boyfriend may like to wear makeup and lingerie - _but he still had a dick, so there._

Without even meaning to, Brian felt a fond smile form on his face. In front of him, Freddie finally stepped back to assess his work, eyes darting left to right to check whether Brian's eyeliner was finally even. Brian hoped it was - he really didn't want more things poking near his eye.

Freddie whooped. "Perfect! Done! Now, we just need to fix the foundation a little - as you can see, some of it's come off around here - but other than that, I think we'll just need to pop on some mascara, and then mayyyyyybe some fake lashes? What do you think, babe? Does this... supermodel, slash Hollywood starlet, slash Fairy Queen fantasy need some fake lashes?"

Not gonna lie, Brian kinda liked how Freddie described him as some sort of cross between an ideal and fantastical beauty. Made him feel like a real showstopper - a stunner.

He turned to the camera, puckering his lips and striking some semblance of a pinup pose. "_Then I'll finally be prettiest of them all?_" he asked demurely.

"_Oh please_," Freddie grinned, pecking a brief kiss onto his lips. "_You know you've always been pretty, love._" He giggled when he saw that some of his lipstick had transferred to Brian's cupid's bow. "_How else do you think you convinced me to date you?_"

Brian straightened in his seat, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Well, I was thinking it was because of my big pe-..."

Freddie gasped, dropping his mascara and scrambling to cover Brian's mouth. "BRIAN HAROLD MAY, DON'T YOU DARE!"

John and Roger broke down into peals of laughter off camera.

Brian snickered behind Freddie's palm, gently removing it so he could smile indulgently at his boyfriend. "I was going to say PE-rsonality, love. Personality. Honestly, Fred. This is a family show, calm down."

Freddie responded by rubbing indignantly at the trace of red on his lips, feigning annoyance and muttering under his breath.

**"Yeah, Fred, let Brian tell us more about his 'big personality'!"** Roger hollered off camera.

Freddie swiftly turned towards his giggling bandmates. "Shut up, Rog!" he mock scolded, embarrassment and amusement breaking out all over his face. "We are not doing that, okay - NO, sto..- _John stop encouraging him! _\- I repeat, NO ONE needs to know about my boyfriend's... _personality or whatever_, alright? This is a makeup tutorial - and you BASTARDS are trying to get me banned from youtube, when I'm not even halfway done with his face! Shame, the lot of you!"

Brian laughed heartily, taking Freddie's hand to get his attention.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, babe, I'll be good now, I promise. No more talk about... big... personalities.. Whether they be mine or yours!" He turned towards the camera, pointing a finger at their imaginary audience. "No more!"

"Ugh, you insufferable knob, _I hate you!_" Freddie hid his face in his hands, eyeing Brian through the gaps between his fingers.

Brian batted his perfectly painted eyelids at his boyfriend. "Liar. _You love me._"

Freddie pretended to consider for a moment, cheeks burning red, before giving in and looking up with a bashful smile.

"Fine, you're right. I do. I love you." He leaned in for a kiss, stopping halfway to grab a tissue to press over Brian's lips, then planting a firm smooch on Brian's tissue-protected face. Brian grinned at his boyfriend's ingenuity, wholly impressed when Freddie pulled away smiling and lipstick transfer-free.

**"Oi! Get a room!"**

Brian took the tissue from Freddie hand, and threw it in John's direction, the other man scurrying to hide behind an equally giggling Roger.

Freddie laughed, flipping off their friends for good measure. "Alright, enough! Let's get back to work!" He reached for his mascara, manhandling Brian's head back into the perfect position.

"Now, you need to sit perfectly still and hush, alright? For real, this time! - or I swear I will stab you in the eye with my mascara wand, and let Roger turn you into one of him memes."

"You wouldn't."

"_Try me, love._"

Brian grinned, already thinking about the many ways he could use those words against his boyfriend later. "_Very well. Do your worst, babe._"

Freddie smirked. Roger and John rolled their eyes.

**"Gayyyyyy"**

"Shut the fuck up, Rog!"

* * *

"....And this is the final look, guys! What do you think, Brian? Did I do a good job?"

Brian stared at his reflection in the mirror.

"Oh my...Fred, you did amazing! I look... oh, I look gorgeous! This is... oh wow. This is fantastic!"

"Really? You really like it?" Freddie asked earnestly. Brian nodded with enthusiasm.

"Freddie, babe... I love it!"

Freddie beamed, feeling probably the proudest he's ever felt since coming out to their fans all those years ago.

To think that they would be able to have a moment like this after everything they had all been through, was humbling. Queen was doing great, his boyfriend was literally the best boyfriend in the world (<strike>John can kiss his ass if he thinks otherwise, no offense to Roger</strike>), and their fans - as far as he knew - loved and accepted all of them just the way they were, no questions asked.

Freddie honestly could not have asked for a better moment to bask in.

Well... then again.

He watched as Brian gingerly poked and prodded at his masterpiece, still enthralled by his new face. Freddie bit his bottom lip. There was one other thing that he's been dying to ask of Brian. One other thing that he's been dying to have Brian do for him.

Something that his wonderful boyfriend has consistently - _albeit politely, because Brian_ \- declined to do ever since he first offhandedly suggested it.

But then again... considering how well he was taking the makeup thing - _perhaps now would be a good time to ask again?_

"Uh oh." Brian was turned towards him; mirror put away, camera still recording.

"What?"

"I know that look."

"I didn't even say anything!"

"But you were thinking it, and I love you, but the answer is no."

Freddie pouted. "_But Brimiiiiiiii..._"

"_No, Freddie._"

"But-"

"I already let you put me in makeup, babe, what more could you want?"

Another pout, but even closer to his face, because Freddie was now dangerously close to sitting on his lap. "_.....Please?_"

Brian sighed. "_Freddie..._"

"Just for one night! _I promise it will be amazing, love!_ You'll be amazing!"

"Freddie, I- I... you know I can't dance..." Now it was Brian's turn to pout, insecurity looming it's ugly head.

Of course he knew what Freddie was suggesting. He'd been suggesting it for almost as long as he's been begging him to do this video. And it wasn't that he didn't like the scene or anything - hell, he probably enjoyed it more than Freddie did! - it was just... the whole over the top theatricality of it all could be so intimidating.

Like... he enjoyed watching Freddie and their other friends when they got into it, but he just couldn't see himself ever having that kind of confidence to pull it off.

But it seemed Freddie was having none of it, though, reaching out and lifting his boyfriend's beautiful face to look at him.

"_You stop that right now._ You know as well as I do that it's not about dancing, it's about _being and enjoying yourself_. And in my personal opinion, darling, _I think you'd be magnificent at it!_"

Brian blushed. "You really think so..?"

Before Freddie could answer, Roger intervened. **"I mean... if it'll make you feel any better, John and I would definitely join in if you agree to it, Brian."**

**"Yeah, Brian,"** John added, arm slung over Roger's slim shoulders. **"Roger's been begging me to put him in drag for ages now. We could even make a night out of it. What do you say?"**

Freddie smiled, hopefulness blooming anew on his face. Brian worried his bottom lip, tasting lipgloss on the tip of his tongue. It tasted like sweet peaches.

"So... what do you say, Brimi? _Ladies night out at a drag club in full drag?_ I'll make sure you're extra pretty."

Brian smiled softly despite himself, already knowing that he had lost this fight. Who was he kidding? He never stood a chance.

"Fine." He agreed, taking Freddie's warm hands in his. "_On one condition._"

Freddie lit up exponentially, already thrumming with excitement and ideas. "_Anything, love._"

"Promise me.... _that we'll be prettier queens than John and Roger_."

Freddie burst into laughter, throwing his arms around Brian while their two friends protested loudly off to the side.

_ **OH, FUCK OFF AND GET A DAMN ROOM, YOU WANKERS.** _

Brian joined his boyfriend laughter, kissing the side of his head as he held him close. A bit of lip gloss stained his temples, but Freddie couldn't care less. He was just elated to be sharing another part of his world with Brian. _His beautiful, sensational, and wonderful lover, Brian May._

He pulled away with a final kiss on Brian's lips, then turned back to the camera.

"_Well, that's it guys! I just did my boyfriend's makeup, and you heard it here first! Queen will be doing a drag night out - Coming to you soon!! Keep a lookout on all of our social media, which will be linked below in the description, and make sure you subscribe..._"

Brian smiled to himself as he watched Freddie close out the video. He looked positively giddy, grinning from ear to ear, mind probably already designing the outfit he wanted Brian's drag persona to wear.

Well, he thought, he's already been many things. A good son, good kid. School nerd, space nerd. Rock musician, rock guitarist.

_A closeted fool who once pined for love; and now, an out and proud fool who was shamelessly in love with the love of his life._

Honestly, what harm could it do to add another thing to that list?

_Besides,_ he thought to himself as Freddie slid onto his lap, _if it made Freddie happy, then it was well worth doing, wasn't it?_

**He saw Roger in the corner of his eye throwing his hands up in exasperation as John rushed to stop the camera's recording; the set lights going dim a few moments later. John then all but dragged Roger out of the room, no doubt to get some alone time of their own - the horny bastards.**

His attention was brought back to the man his arms when he felt Freddie leave his lap, moving to clear a space on the makeup table - just enough for him to hop up on, and beckon to Brian, legs spread apart oh so invitingly.

Brian wasted no time to stand between them, hands on Freddie's hips while Freddie leaned back on his elbows, shamelessly smudged bottom lip between his teeth. Undoubtedly, Brian knew his own makeup was probably ruined, but judging by his boyfriend's reaction, it was far from being an issue at that very moment.

_In fact, it might well be the exact opposite of a problem._

Brian smirked._ Oh yeah. Definitely worth it._

**Author's Note:**

> spoiler alert: the video becomes freddie's most viewed video ever. the end.


End file.
